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Rod Blagojevich says the testimony and cross-examination of his former friend and chief of staff was painful to watch. (Published Wednesday, June 16, 2010)

Updated at 6:23 PM CDT on Tuesday, Jun 15, 2010

The judge overseeing the trial of former governor Rod Blagojevich changed course slightly today and agreed to release previously sealed secretly recorded phone conversations at the end of the day they are played.

Judge James Zagel earlier said that he would not release the tapes until after the defense had a chance to cross-examine witnesses. But Tuesday he agreed to release them earlier.

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Shortly after the tapes were released, Blagojevich briefly addressed the media at the Dirksen Federal Court building.

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"Today was in many ways from a personal standpoint a very sad day," said Blagojevich, referring to the testimony of Lon Monk, his longtime friend. "It was very said to see my old friend on the stand testifying...and acknowledging those statements weren't true."

Blagojevich also said that while Monk was testifying, he thought about Monk's mother and father and "the shame his father probably feels."

"But from the standpoint of getting the truth out, I think we made real strides in establishing what the truth is," Blagojevich said.

As for the tapes, the first batch primarily cover conversations between Monk and Robert Blagojevich, and their efforts to convince wealthy associates to donate to the Blagojevich campaign.

Monk was grilled for a second consecutive day by defense attorney Sam Adam Jr., who attempted to paint Monk as a self-serving opportunist bent on avoiding his own jail time through a plea deal with prosecutors.